article
Feasts in New Ireland: the social function of eating
American anthropologist • 34 • Published In 1932 • Pages: 236-247
By: Powdermaker, Hortense.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article, as the title suggests, discusses the function of eating as it occurs under communal-ritual conditions. The author presents a theoretical introduction to the subject, and descriptive data concerning feasting among the people of Lesu as she observed it on numerous occasions related to life cycle rites, economic transactions, war and peace, and other events. Preparations, the roles of men compared to those of women, moiety activities, trade and gift exchange, and other customs are discussed when pertinent to the feast itself. The author summarizes her data and concludes that feasts are a form of ritual serving to impress the sentiments of the society upon the individual, thus maintaining the existence of the former.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Diet
- Food preparation
- Division of labor by gender
- Eating
- Gender status
- Visiting and hospitality
- Exchange transactions
- Status, role, and prestige
- Termination of marriage
- Community structure
- Instigation of war
- Residence
- Burial practices and funerals
- Rest days and holidays
- Gift giving
- Ethnometeorology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Lesu
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2012
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Oceania
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Melanesia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- George R. Bedell ; 1961
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1929-1930
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1920-1932
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Lesu, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- NotesAdditional notes
- Hortense Powdermaker
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 17015424
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- New Ireland Province (Papua New Guinea)
- Ethnology--Papua New Guinea--New Ireland
- Lesu, New Ireland (Papua New Guinea)